Go 2 Guy: Fractionally speaking, Goodwin's loaded

Published 10:00 pm, Wednesday, July 9, 2003

I didn't pay attention to LeBron James' splashy NBA debut in a summer league game Tuesday in Orlando.

But then, I don't pay attention to a lot of things.

I just know this: After talking to his agent yesterday, I needed anti-depressants or a stiff cocktail.

For some reason, Aaron Goodwin returned my call. I don't think I've ever been very high on his list of favorite reporters, mainly because another of his clients, Gary Payton, is not very high on my list of favorite players.

On the other hand, Damon Stoudamire, yet another of Goodwin's clients, is very high on something, and I think we all know what it is. To try to smuggle marijuana wrapped in foil through an airport metal detector, well, I'm inclined to take a box of rocks over the Trail Blazers guard if he ever appears on Jeopardy.

"The truth of the matter is that it's America, and the kid is a product," Goodwin said. "He's a cultural icon right now. With the interest in him, in a free market, he should get whatever possible with no parameters whatsoever.

"It's great that Nike saw what the kid can do."

Other companies saw what the kid could do, too.

"We've gotten more deals since," Goodwin said.

From what companies, for how many more millions, I did not want to know because I was already ill and about to collapse from the unfairness of it all.

There is no denying James' popularity for a league that needs him. Five-dollar tickets were being scalped for $80 last night, and his Cavaliers' jersey sold out.

James' number: 23.

"I don't see him being the next Kobe or the next Michael," Goodwin said. "He's a cross between those two guys. And he passes like Magic. He's a hybrid. He'll be the first LeBron James."

As for Payton, who is selling his house in Bellevue, Goodwin will earn chump change this year (about $190,000) when the Glove signs with the Lakers, as expected, on July 16.

Goodwin said that Payton spurned more lucrative offers from Portland, Miami, Indiana and New York because of the Lakers' lure of a possible championship. Plus, Shaquille O'Neal wanted Payton.

"Shaq made it clear to me that I'd better get Gary to L.A. or he would break my neck," Goodwin laughed.

All I want to do is wring it, because Goodwin represents all that is wrong in America -- these are my feelings about everyone who is younger and more successful than me.